Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households with dependent children than 95% of UK towns: 36%
The share of adults who have never married trails 99% of UK towns: 21%. The 2021 Census counted 947 residents in 351 households. Across Speldhurst, 6.2% of households have no car or van. On households in terraced houses, Speldhurst sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 8.4%.
A median age of 46.4: Speldhurst is older than 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with nearly one in ten residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 63% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Speldhurst ranks above 81% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.8%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 8.1% in Speldhurst. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households make up 23% in Speldhurst, less than in 92% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Speldhurst, 1.7%. Set beside that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Each household has 2.6 people on average.
Above 95% of UK towns: 57% of households live in a detached house
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Set against 23% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment in Speldhurst. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns.
Speldhurst: 98% of residents have English as their main language, above 63% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.7%). Speldhurst has more residents born outside the UK than 56% of UK towns, at 7%. To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
60% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 93% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 93% of Speldhurst · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
34% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.7%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and Caribbean (0.2%). Higher than in 58% of UK towns: 93% of residents describe themselves as White British.
62% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
For 19 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Unpaid carers are more common here than in three fifths of UK towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.
49% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 49% of Speldhurst’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 8.9% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Speldhurst, 3 are older
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speldhurst | 947 | — | 46.4 | 24% | 36% |
| Rusthall and Langton Green | 7,783 | 1.3 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 32% |
| Southborough | 9,632 | 1.9 mi | 41.9 | 17% | 33% |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 2.5 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 30% |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 3 mi | 48.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Groombridge | 1,077 | 3.1 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 29% |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 4.3 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 31% |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 4.3 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 33% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Kent’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Kent (or England), summed the same way as Speldhurst’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Speldhurst’s residents
What is the population of Speldhurst?
The 2021 Census counted 947 people in Speldhurst’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Speldhurst?
The median age was 46.4 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Speldhurst?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Speldhurst?
34% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Speldhurst good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Speldhurst’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.